The present invention relates to rotary sprinklers, and particularly to rotary sprinklers for use in water irrigation.
Many different types of sprinklers are presently used for water irrigation. Thus, there is the impact or hammer type sprinkler which produces a long-range jet rotating at a relatively low-velocity, e.g. in the order of up to 10 RPM. A second type, commonly called a whirling sprinkler, produces a shorter-range jet rotating much faster, in the order of several hundred RPM's. A third type, sometimes called a mini-sprinkler or sprayer, is a static device which produces no rotating jet but rather a spray of fine water droplets around the sprinkler. The present invention is particularly useful with respect to the latter two types of sprinklers.
The known devices, particularly the whirling-sprinkler or mini-sprinkler types, frequently suffer from high-sensivity to clogging by solid particles in the irrigation water, non-uniformity in the distribution of the water around the sprinkler particularly when they include lateral supporting elements impinged by the water, and/or the need for high precision in the dimensions of the parts of the sprinkler thereby increasing both the initial and the maintenance costs and reducing their useful lives by wear.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary sprinkler having advantages in the above respects as will be more particularly pointed out below.